Georgia’s January-March foreign trade figures between 2007 and 2013 in million U.S. dollars. Source: Geostat.

Georgia’s foreign trade declined 5% year-to-year in the first quarter of 2013 to USD 2.14 billion due to reduction in imports, according to figures released by the state statistics office, Geostat, on April 24.

Georgia’s export amounted to USD 565 million in January-March, up by 5% y/y and import was USD 1.58 billion, an 8% decline over the same period of 2012.

Trade gap was slightly over USD 1 billion in the first quarter, a 14.7% y/y decrease.

Trade with Turkey, which is Georgia’s long-time largest trading partner, accounted USD 306.2 million in January-March 2013; while import from Turkey amounted to USD 269 million, export from Georgia to Turkey was only USD 37.1 million.

Export of mineral waters made 2.8% of total exports, increasing 35.5% y/y in January-March 2013 to USD 15.6 million.

Georgian wine export increased 34% y/y in value to USD 13.7 million in the first quarter of this year making its share in country’s total export 2.4%.

Oil products top the list of imports totaling USD 174 million making its share in total imports 11% in January-March 2013; like most of the main imported commodities (exceptions are mobile phones, railway passenger cars and meat products), value of imported oil products also saw decrease over the same period of last year.